‘The War On Drugs Is An Epic Fail’ Narrated by Jay-Z

I’m a big nerd for the RSA animate series, I’ll watch talk after talk with the accompanied sketches and take in every word as it unfolds on paper. Sketch your point out in stop motion and you’ll have my full attention.

Today, the NYT got my full attention with the premiere of a short film giving an historic perspective on the war on drugs in America narrated by Shawn “Jay Z” Carter and featuring the artwork of Molly Crabapple. ‘The War on Drugs is An Epic Fail’ is a factual and historical breakdown of the origins of the crime laws on drugs consumption and distribution. Jay-Z narrates the film framing the history of the judicial system which incarcerates more people than anywhere else in the world, with the racial bias against black people in the US. The war on drugs has been a catalyst for the mass incarceration reaching a prison population of over 2 million people in the US, of which 40 percent black people are incarcerated on drugs violations while simultaneously being excluded them from the growing economy for the sale of legal marijuana.

Produced by filmmaker Dream Hampton who collaborated with Jay-Z on his book ‘Decoded’, the film has been created as a joint project with Revolve Impact, a social impact agency which connects artists and influencers with community organisers. The video, alternatively titled “From Prohibition to Gold Rush,” was produced in collaboration between Revolve Impact and the Drug Policy Alliance.